Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Misunderstandings Breed Misunderstandings (2)
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Once I started listening consciously, it was unmistakably Yoo Ji-han's voice.
It wasn't that I hadn't suspected "Kim Yoo-han" might be Yoo Ji-han since our encounter in the ant nest.
But between the call with Park Si-woo and everything else, a reasonable suspicion was still just a suspicion; there was no physical proof.
I had lowered my sword, but several questions still lingered in my mind.
Was this guy really the Yoo Ji-han I knew? How was he outside? If he was the same person from the ant nest, why did he attack me? I had so many questions.
Thinking I had nothing to lose, I opened the door.
Seeing the man standing there with his weight shifted to one hip, my eyes widened in genuine surprise.
The Yoo Ji-han at the door was indeed the Yoo Ji-han I knew.
His face and build were definitely a match.
However, his aura was a bit different.
Savage, perhaps? It was something I’d felt when we met before, but this guy had a sharp edge to him.
But there was something else that truly surprised me.
“You actually look decent?”
“Ugh.”
Hearing my murmur, Ji-han bit his lip hard.
*I was just testing him.*
The guy who had appeared as Kim Yoo-han back then had long hair.
With a mask and a hat, it had been hard to get a clear look at his face.
Only a Hunter who was there, or the man himself, would know that his fashion sense had been bizarre.
Seeing him scowl, it seemed he was aware that it wasn’t the best look.
Yeah, that outfit was a bit much.
Through the slightly ajar door, the two of us eyed each other warily.
Fully opening the door was out of the question, as the door to my heart hadn't opened yet.
“Who are you?”
“What?”
“I asked who you are.”
“Didn’t you just mumble something because you already knew?”
He shot back openly.
It seemed he wasn't completely clueless.
*First things first…*
I needed to clarify his name.
“Open the door, will you?”
An invisible power struggle ensued between me and Yoo Ji-han, who was trying to open the door.
On the surface, it might have looked like an even match, but the reality was completely different.
Unlike Yoo Ji-han, who had slipped his hand through the gap and was holding his ground with one hand, I was desperately clinging to the door with both of mine.
It was a good thing he couldn't see me on the other side.
“Your information has vanished from the Aria Guild’s records.”
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes narrowed as he tried to force the door open.
He spoke with a nuance that suggested something had come to mind.
“You said you were introduced to Park Si-woo through Choi Soo-hyun. I guess that was true?”
Yoo Ji-han neither confirmed nor denied that his information had disappeared from the guild.
Instead, he leaked information about me, as if to show he knew just as much as I had found out through Park Si-woo.
He was not only quick-witted but also sharp.
“Open the door. Before I smash it to pieces.”
For someone who claimed he didn't come to fight, he was quite aggressive.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of talking to someone who won’t even give their name.”
At my firm stance, Ji-han finally took a step back.
“It’s Yoo Ji-han.”
The name, spoken reluctantly, threw my mind into chaos.
So this guy was, in fact, the same person as the Yoo Ji-han in the Tower.
When I didn't respond, Ji-han sneered.
“What? While you’re at it, why don’t you ask for my weight and height?”
I don’t care about that crap!
This bastard, seriously.
I spoke to Yoo Ji-han through the crack in the door.
“You really didn’t come here to fight, did you?”
“A Hunter under the protection of a famous guild leader and a mysterious Hunter of unknown identity get into a brawl in a residential area. It’s obvious who would be at a disadvantage if a commotion broke out, isn’t it? I may not care about you, but I’m not stupid enough to make enemies of the people behind you.”
Ji-han yanked the door open with force.
My body was pulled along with it.
Seeing the wide-open door, Ji-han gave a slight shrug.
After taking off his shoes, he casually walked into the house with his hands in his pockets.
Standing in the middle of the room, Ji-han looked around.
“Go ask Park Si-woo or Choi Soo-hyun to buy you a house. They’re loaded. What’s with this semi-basement studio?”
As expected, the first thing he did upon entering was complain about my home.
“I’m planning to move, you know.”
I’d just been staying here because I was busy with work.
I was really going to move once the expedition with the Raon Guild was over.
There was no need to explain all this to Yoo Ji-han, so I kept it to myself.
Ji-han pulled a nearby low table over and sat on the floor.
Anyone would think it was his house, not mine.
*This jerk.*
He looked similar to the Yoo Ji-han in the Tower, but his personality was completely different.
The Yoo Ji-han I knew had a bit of a crazy streak, but he wasn't the type to have a chip on his shoulder about the world!
“A guest is here. Aren’t you going to offer some tea?”
He looked up from his phone, his words dripping with arrogance.
I grabbed an unopened one-liter plastic bottle of water from the fridge and slammed it onto the table.
My sudden action made Ji-han’s mouth fall open.
“Are you kidding me?”
“If you’re that thirsty, grab a cup from behind you. Be grateful I’m even giving you water.”
“Hah, forget it.”
What do you mean, forget it!
I’m not done yet!
I still have a lot of questions.
And put that damn phone down!
My head was already throbbing from him barging in, but seeing him messaging someone else right in front of me made my stomach churn.
Is he testing me?
How about I test you first?
As I gripped the sword I had set on the floor, Ji-han put his phone in his pocket and raised his hands.
He was annoyingly perceptive about things like this, making it impossible to stay angry.
If I drew my sword while he had both hands up, I’d be the only one looking like a jerk.
Without letting go of the sword, I spoke to Ji-han.
“What do you want?”
Asking how he found my house was pointless.
If he could erase his information from the Aria Guild and find out that I had joined through Choi Soo-hyun, finding my address would be simple.
And this was just a gut feeling, but the hacking wasn't Yoo Ji-han's work.
Was he really texting a lover right in front of me?
There had to be someone with exceptional hacking skills.
*That’s why I told him to manage security better.*
Park Si-woo had insisted the guild's security was impenetrable, but life isn't always so simple.
*What is the connection between the Yoo Ji-han in the Tower and the one in front of me?*
To begin with, is this guy even the Yoo Ji-han I know?
Lowering his hands, Ji-han pointed a finger at me.
“It’s about the god you serve.”
Come to think of it, he had mentioned something like that last time.
He had attacked me right after I defeated the Queen Ant.
Thinking back, the spot where he hit me in the stomach started to ache.
Despite me gripping my sword as if I might cut him down at any moment, Yoo Ji-han didn't even blink.
His nonchalant, “go on and try” expression drained my energy, and I relaxed my grip, letting go of my sword.
It seemed he really hadn't come here to fight, just as he said.
“What about the god I serve?”
“I know the god you serve isn’t Vector. You idiot, if you’re going to make an excuse, at least make it a believable one.”
Ji-han casually twisted the cap off the water bottle on the table and started drinking.
“Hey, you…!!”
Before I could stop him, the water from the bottle was flowing down his throat.
I was at a loss for words, watching half the bottle disappear in an instant.
Did you just come from the desert?
Did you come to my house just to drink my water!
Anyone could see I put it there as a sign not to drink it.
Placing the bottle on the floor next to his knee, Ji-han looked at me with a defiant gaze.
His attitude seemed to say, "You gave it to me to drink, so I drank it. What's the problem?"
I'd never seen such a shameless bastard.
I seriously began to doubt if this guy was the Yoo Ji-han I knew.
“I don’t know how you came to serve him, but you need to stop. Right now.”
Yoo Ji-han’s words were completely unexpected.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t come here to fight, but I never said I had no intention of fighting.”
“Stop playing with words. Explain what you mean.”
“Do you know the meaning of this game?”
Of course, I did.
It was a competition where the gods vied for Contribution Points until the Day of Reckoning, and the god with the most points would obtain the "Ruler's Authority."
It didn't seem like all Hunters knew this, but those close to the gods or the particularly sharp ones had likely figured it out.
I didn't answer easily.
The Yoo Ji-han from the Tower and the one before me were the same person, yet different.
With his intentions unclear, I couldn't afford to say anything carelessly.
Yoo Ji-han repeated himself like a machine.
“Cut ties with him.”
“But why?”
I asked again, unable to contain my frustration.
A heavy shadow fell over Yoo Ji-han’s face.
“He is a god who should never have participated in this game.”
“And what if I say I won’t cut ties with Soter?”
“I believe I just told you. I never said I had no intention of fighting. Didn't you understand that I didn't come here to ask for a favor?”
“So if I don't, you'll hit me like last time? If it’s not a request, is it a threat? Aren’t you being a bit too polite for that?”
“My goal is to kill his followers. And if I can kill Soter in the process, all the better.”
I was speechless at Yoo Ji-han’s outrageous declaration.
“No matter what you say, I have no intention of cutting ties with Soter.”
Cut ties? I couldn't even if I wanted to.
Doing what he said would be a death sentence for me.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s…”
A sword suddenly appeared at my neck.
Startled, I rolled across the floor to dodge the attack.
I barely managed to grab the Sky Sword before retreating.
Blood dripped from where the blade had grazed me.
*That bastard!*
He wasn't joking; he had really tried to kill me.
If I had been even a fraction of a second slower, it would have been dangerous.
In Yoo Ji-han’s hand was a sword I had never seen before.
It definitely wasn't the one I had gifted him.
If this guy was the same Yoo Ji-han from the Tower, then he would possess something no other Hunter should have.
An item inventory.
The fact that Yoo Ji-han was so confident despite being empty-handed was proof of that.
If I hadn't considered the possibility of him having an item inventory, I might have fallen for his surprise attack.
“Hey! You said you didn’t come here to fight!”
“Do you stick to your plans?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Plans. You know, like deciding what to do for the day.”
“If I decide to do something today, I do it.”
Gripping his sword, Ji-han took a step toward me.
That sword looks pretty good, though.
“A plan is usually something you make before things happen.”
“That’s why it’s a plan!”
“I don’t make plans. I wouldn’t keep them even if I did. Do you know why?”
“What? Why!”
“How can I make a plan when I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow?”
Ji-han raised his sword high.
This psychopathic bastard!
So, you came here to fight after all